Les Ateliers Gaîté

The original version of the complex was named îlot Vandamme Nord (lit. 'North Vandamme Block'), after a section of fr:rue Vandamme, which was replaced by the current rue du Commandant-René-Mouchotte during the area's redevelopment.^[4] It was sometimes just called îlot Gaîté. The majority of the buildings were built between 1972 and 1976, and designed by architect Pierre Dufau. The venture was led by real estate developer Joseph Vaturi of Société Overseas Development France (SODEFRA). The budget was projected at FRF 120 million in 1969.^[5] It has been the property of current owner Unibail-Rodamco (today Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield) since 1998.^[6]

The enterprise was set in motion to capitalize on a project to extend the A10 autoroute right into Montparnasse, although that was called off by Paris mayor Jacques Chirac in 1977 after protests from local residents.^[7][8][9] Between 1977 and 1993, two walkways connected Vandamme Nord to the other side of rue du Commandant-René-Mouchotte. In 1993, they were replaced by a single walkway connecting it to the TGV 2 hall at Gare Montparnasse.^[10] Despite its relatively low footprint, the ensemble boasted a sizeable array of amenities, in part thanks to its six underground floors.^[7]

The complex's cornerstone is a luxury hotel tower, opened in 1974.^[11] It was originally called the Paris Sheraton Hotel, before successive rebrands as Montparnasse Park Hotel, Méridien Paris Montparnasse and Pullman Paris Montparnasse. It is ranked as the third largest hotel in Paris by number of rooms.^[12] Culminating at 116 mètres, it claims to offer the highest open air rooftop bar in Paris.^[13]

Jazz Café Montparnasse

Interactive map of Jazz Café Montparnasse
Former names	Le Petit Journal Montparnasse
Address	13 rue du Commandant-René-Mouchotte
Owner	André Damon (founder & original owner, Le Petit Journal)[14]
Capacity	300
Construction
Opened	1985[14]
Closed	2016

Le Petit Journal Montparnasse was a jazz club and restaurant that operated within the complex between 1985 and 2016. Spun off from an earlier Quartier latin club called Le Petit Journal due to the newspaper clippings that adorned its walls,^[14] it was the largest of the two at roughly 500 m² (5,400 sq ft),^[15] and became one of Paris' best known jazz venues. It was closely associated with Dreyfus Records, whose artists regularly played and sometimes recorded there.^[16] The label also released a venue-branded compilation album in 2002.^[17] Claude Bolling, Manu Dibango, Richard Galliano, Didier Lockwood and Michel Petrucciani are among those who have headlined there. In late 2017, a new tenant opened a spiritual successor on the same premises. As he could not secure the rights to the original moniker, it was named Jazz Café Montparnasse instead.^[15]

• Galerie Gaîté, originally Centre Gaîté, a 15,800 m² (170,000 sq ft) shopping center occupying two floors.^[18] Extensively renovated three times before full remodel as Les Atelier Gaîté in 2020 (see below).^[19]
• Three stories of office space totalling 11,500 m² (124,000 sq ft) above the shopping center^[20]
• A gymnasium, called Gymnase Mouchotte after the street it borders,^[21] equipped for indoor team sports and artificial rock climbing, with a rooftop synthetic track configured for different sports, including tennis, over the years. This part of the complex was delayed until 1984.^[22]
• Bibliothèque Vandamme, a public library located underground to the East of the complex.^[18][23]
• 2500 underground parking spots^[20]
• Le Héron, a 20-storey office tower,^[7][20] remodelled in 1990 under architect Maurice Novarina.^[24]
• A 16-storey residential building named Les Balcons de Montparnasse.^[7]

A strategy committee for the rehabilitation of Montparnasse was formed in 2005 as a joint venture between various local and regional governments,^[21] but few tangible initiatives came out of it.^[25] It was re-announced in 2015^[26] with the "Montparnasse 2020" plan, which included an extensive rebuild of îlot Vandamme Nord and a reorganization of the nearby railway station.^[23] Concurrently, Dutch agency MVRDV received formal approval to oversee the former, under the direction of co-founder Winy Maas. The same firm had already worked on a refresh of Lyon's La Part-Dieu, another emblematic 1970s complex owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.^[27][28] The total cost of the Vandamme Nord makeover was evaluated at €500 million.^[1][3][29]

The hotel and mall were remodeled, with the latter taking over one floor of the underground car park, which was scaled down from 2500 to approximately 1500 spots. The mall now spans 28,800 m² (310,000 sq ft)^[30] across three floors, and houses 65 retail outlets.^[31] A 4,000 m² (43,000 sq ft) food court^[30] was also fitted out. With room for 25 food and beverage outlets, 800 patrons on the main floor and 300 more on a terrace,^[3] it was billed as the largest food court in Europe at the time of its 2022 delivery.^[2] The office floors located above the mall were rebuilt and expanded into a new 6-storey^[30] volume, offering a cumulative surface of circa 13,000 m² (140,000 sq ft).^[1]

To secure the city of Paris' approval, URW agreed to contribute new and improved public service facilities to the complex.^[25][32][33] The library, previously located underground, was moved to a two-storey volume at and above street level, using space previously occupied by a bowling alley and spanning 600 m² (6,500 sq ft).^[28][29] Additionally, it was renamed Bibliothèque Benoîte Groult in honor of the recently deceased author.^[34] A new 7-storey building was added to the ensemble, featuring a 630 m² (6,800 sq ft) kindergarten^[2] and sixty-two social housing units totaling 4,530 m² (48,800 sq ft), built using a wooden framework, ostensibly for improved environmental sustainability.^[35]